


just hold me close

by piginawig



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Birthday Fluff, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Minor StanPat, Post-IT Chapter Two (2019), Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, minor losers, very soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:20:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29914056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/piginawig/pseuds/piginawig
Summary: It's Richie Tozier's birthday, and Eddie Kaspbrak would do anything to make him happy.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Comments: 4
Kudos: 100





	just hold me close

**Author's Note:**

> Just a very short and fluffy fic for Richie's birthday! This is post-ch 2 in which Eddie has already moved to California and has his own little apartment just a few miles away from Richie.

Richie was shocked when he made it to the large table at the back of the restaurant. It was mostly hidden in a nook, and six seats were already taken, leaving two empty for himself and for Eddie.

“What the fuck, guys?” He asked, unable to contain the smile tugging at his lips. “You didn’t have to come –“

“As if we’d miss your birthday, dude,” Ben said generously, standing with the rest to offer Richie a hug. Bill's presence wasn’t a surprise, though, so he gave him a hard pat on the shoulder and a grin before moving on to hug Mike. He noticed before he even made it to Stanley that Eddie had already taken a seat, not receiving a hug from any of the others as though he'd already seen them since they'd all arrived.

He narrowed his eyes playfully at Eddie. “What the _fuck_ , fucker?”

Eddie grinned and shrugged, while Bill muttered to himself about _using inappropriate language in a fancy place_ and how he _knew they should’ve gone somewhere else_. Richie ignored him to focus on Eddie.

“Seriously, when did you plan this?”

“How do you know I’m the one who planned it?” Eddie asked unconvincingly.

The others laughed and Richie finally took his seat next to Eddie. “Who else would it be?”

Richie looked around the table at his friends. Beverly looked the giddiest, though she also had a half-empty wine glass in front of her. “It could’ve been Bev!”

“ _Wasn’t me_ ,” she sing-songed. “I’m happy to be here, though. I do recall receiving a phone call… vaguely threatening –“

“I was not threatening!” Eddie said indignantly.

“Oh, no, mine was threatening, too,” Stan agreed, shrugging a shoulder.

“As if we wouldn’t have come, even if Eddie hadn’t threatened us –“ Patty started, only for Richie to begin crowing.

“What did you threaten, Eds?! Bodily harm?”

“No, I –“ Eddie’s face was turning red. “It was not a _threat_ , you assholes, I literally just said –“

“You told me, and I quote, _if you love your friend you’ll get your ass out to California for his birthday_ ,” Mike said, with an impressively spot-on impression of Eddie.

Eddie huffed. “That’s hardly a threat.”

“Don’t worry, Richie,” Bill said, as Eddie crossed his arms and refused to say anything more. “I’m not here under threat.”

“You live here,” Richie pointed out, smiling widely.

Bill shrugged. “I could’ve had somewhere to be.”

The table lit up with laughter.

* * *

“You know,” Richie said later, sitting in the passenger seat of Eddie’s car. “I bet they all would’ve come even if you’d just asked nicely.”

Eddie sighed, though Richie could tell he wasn't actually upset. “Would you let that go?”

“Never,” he promised with a laugh. “But thank you, anyway.”

The car was dark but Richie swore he could see a blush on Eddie’s cheeks when they passed beneath a streetlight.

“It’s nothing. Someone else would’ve done it if I hadn’t.”

Richie was sure Eddie believed that, even if he didn’t himself, so he didn’t say anything.

“Hey – it’s only 11, do you wanna – I mean, unless you’re tired, we could –“

“I’m not tired,” Richie said, sitting up straighter. They were nearing the exit that would lead them to Richie's house. “I only had a couple beers, I’m totally fine.”

“Then maybe I could –“ Eddie paused as though he was gathering his thoughts, and Richie waited as patiently as he could force himself to be. “Maybe I could come hang out for a bit? We could watch a movie or – or something, I don’t know… It’s still technically your birthday –“

“You should definitely come over,” Richie said eagerly.

“Okay.” Eddie let out a quiet huff of breath as he took the exit toward Richie’s house. Richie felt his heart rate pick up, but didn’t say anything, content to lean back against the passenger seat and watch Eddie in the darkness of the car.

* * *

The next few hours had passed too quickly for Richie’s liking, but time seemed to do that when he was around Eddie anyway. Sometimes it felt like he could never get enough of the man, that every second spent with him sped by and every second without him played at half-speed.

“Do you mind if I just crash in the guest bedroom? I don’t want to drive home after I’ve been drinking.” Eddie asked, stretching as he stood from the couch. They’d watched two movies (although ‘ _watched_ ’ was a strong word; they mostly talked and teased and laughed while a movie played in the background) and gone through two and half bags of popcorn and a beer each.

“Sure,” Richie said. He knew Eddie wasn’t even close to drunk; he’d been designated driver after dinner (a role he took very seriously) and had only had a single beer over the course of four hours. Richie chose not to comment though, happy to have Eddie in his house as long as Eddie wanted to be there. “You know where everything is.”

“Yeah,” Eddie agreed without moving. Richie stood from the couch, too, watching Eddie. He was standing a few feet between the couch and the hallway that led to the guest room, hands curled in his pockets and looking… Richie wasn’t sure. Pensive, perhaps?

Slowly, Richie took two steps closer, still leaving about two feet of space between them. “You good, Eds?”

Eddie blinked, like Richie had pulled him from a trance. He glanced over his shoulder at the hallway before looking back to Richie.

“Did you have a good birthday?”

Richie was caught off guard by the question, but smiled easily. “Of course. It was great to see everybody. You really didn’t have to – but I appreciate it. You’re, uh, too good to me, Eds.” He tried to say it like a joke, keep his voice light, but by the way Eddie’s eyes widened he didn’t think he did a great job. He tried not to cringe and pressed on. “Anyway, I’m pretty beat, I think I’m going to go to –“

“Yeah, of course,” Eddie said, nodding before Richie could finish his sentence. Then, to Richie’s surprise, he closed the gap between them and held his arms out a little awkwardly. His eyes looked determined, even if his cheeks were a little red, and Richie ignored the way his heart began hammering in his chest so he could accept the hug. Eddie’s arms wrapped snugly around his neck, and Richie let his own hands rest softly on the small of his back, almost shaking with the effort to not put too much pressure, to not make the hug something that it wasn’t. He didn’t realize how close Eddie’s face was to his own until hot breath hit his ear, and he shivered at the whispered, “happy birthday, Rich.”

Eddie’s arms began to loosen around his neck and he tried to gather himself, to not look disappointed at the end of the hug, but instead of pulling back Eddie let a hand rest on the back of Richie’s neck. Richie’s breath hitched. He tried to stay as still as possible, unsure what was happening but not wanting it to end.

“Rich?” Eddie whispered, this time his breath caressing Richie’s cheek.

“Yeah?” Richie croaked, suddenly becoming aware that at some point he had squeezed his eyes shut.

Eddie didn’t say anything for a moment, and then Richie felt something against his cheek. _His nose_ , he realized with a start, and without thinking he tightened his arms around Eddie’s waist.

Eddie seemed to take that as a good sign, because in only a few moments his nose slid from Richie’s cheek until it bumped Richie’s own nose, and Richie gasped quietly at the feeling of Eddie’s breath against his lips. His body buzzed with anticipation and he pushed away the feeling of disbelief that swept through him as Eddie whispered his name again in the small space between their lips before finally closing the distance.

Richie whined softly at the press of their lips together and slid his hands up and down Eddie’s back as though trying to memorize the feel of him. Eddie’s mouth moved slowly against his, sending sparks shooting down his spine.He couldn’t keep track of his own thoughts, instead focusing on the feeling of Eddie’s lips against his own, his hands that had found their way into his hair, the way their chests heaved with each quick intake of breath between kisses.

“Eds, what –“ Richie whispered into the small space between them when the kisses slowed.

“I don’t – I just –“ Eddie seemed unable to complete a thought, and Richie kissed him again just because he could. Eddie moaned into Richie’s mouth. They didn’t talk for a few minutes, choosing instead to make out like teenagers in Richie’s living room, until finally Richie pulled back, breathing heavily.

“Eds,” he panted quietly, his hands gripping Eddie’s hips. “What’s happening?”

“I’m finally kissing you,” Eddie said, his voice just as soft.

“Finally?”

“Yeah,” he said, then pressed their lips together chastely. “ _Finally_. Happy birthday.”

“It’s not my birthday anymore,” Richie told him, trying to get his breathing under control. Eddie just pulled him back into a hug, and Richie fell into it, loving the feeling of Eddie’s arms around him.

“Can I still kiss you, then?” Eddie asked, breath against Richie’s ear again. “Even though it’s not your birthday?”

Richie huffed a laugh. “You can kiss me whenever the fuck you want to, Eds. In case you missed it, I love you.”

He felt Eddie’s gasp against his chest, felt the puff of breath against the side of his face.

“You love me?”

Richie had always expected, if he were to ever tell Eddie about his feelings, that getting the words out would be one of the hardest things he’d ever have to do. Instead, they rolled off his tongue with no effort at all. “I’ve been in love with you as long as I can remember, Eds.”

Eddie sniffled, and Richie tightened his arms around his waist.

“I love you, too,” he said, pressing a kiss to Richie’s cheek as though to seal the deal. They stood holding each other for a few more moments, before Eddie pulled back just enough to make eye contact. “We should go to bed.”

Richie spoke without thinking. “My bed?” Eddie bit his lip, staring at Richie as though he held the answers to the universe. “If that’s okay with you,” Richie continued, finally letting his arms drop from around Eddie. He held out his hand.

“Yeah, that’s okay with me,” Eddie said, and took Richie’s hand. 


End file.
